Patna High Court files landmark Judgment on Apne Aap PIL

Here is a link to a landmark judgment by the Patna High Court http://indiankanoon.org/doc/83172639/ on a public interest litigation filed by Apne Aap three years ago after our activist Kalam was falsely arrested, another activist Fatima’s daughter was kept in a police lockup up all night and police looked on as traffickers pulled girls out of our boarding school saying their pimp-father had the right to take their daughters out!

We had asked for the court to ask the police to arrest traffickers and not activists, have special police officers for trafficking cases, social welfare services for both victims and at risk girls in every panchayat, boarding schools for at-risk girls, health, education, housing and legal services as well citizenship and subsidy documents for all victims. We shared Apne Aap’s ten asset approach from safe space, education through KGBV boarding schools, to karate class, to government IDs and subsidies, to livelihood support, bank accounts and services or victims as well as more shelters and more police action against traffickers and clients.

In a sweeping judgement, the court has asked the government of Bihar to tackle trafficking from every angle in every village. They will work to identify missing children, ensure school for at-risk children, arrest traffickers and clients, provide citizenship papers and subsidies to at-risk women and victims, provide seed money for small business, set up more shelters, and report back. It is truly one of the most comprehensive anti-trafficking judgements in the poorest state of India with a population of 82,998,509 of which 23,852,828 are girls. This judgement can transform the lives of the most marginalized of them by giving them access to citizenship and services and justice which has evaded them for centuries.

If we can get this judgement implemented in spite of the lack of resources in Bihar and track the difference it makes in five years, we will have proven our point to the whole world.